If you are involved in a software development company, you might be familiar with Product Management. But what precisely is it? And what does it do? At first sight, you could say that Product Management is the most critical aspect of the success of a product. It doesn't mean that it is more important or better than other departments, it means that it plays a vital role within the company.
Why?:
As developers are primarily Technical Experts with little exposure to the Clients, the Product Management team is in charge of translating the Client’s visions to the team. They are the bridge between the client and the rest of the company.
Based on this, the PMs gather the requirements through the Product Requirement Document and track the process of the product. They work closely with the sales team to create an adequate go-to-market strategy with the correct product positioning to ensure success.
Product Managers are a relief for clients because they also contribute to developing a suitable business model for getting a good return on investment throughout the product's life cycle.
In the previous paragraph, we talked about the Product Requirement document, but what is this document, and how is it constructed?
A Product Requirement document defines the product you are about to build: It outlines the product's purpose, its features, functionalities, and behavior. - Atlassian company.
It creates unification, understanding, and a route that all those involved in the project will follow. To follow the path, Product Managers build a Roadmap. The roadmap is a plan of action for how a product or solution will evolve.
In the roadmap, you set updates and actions to start tracking the development of the product. You create it based on the activities and the estimated time that your team delivers. Having good communication with your team will make progression easier because we can track progress and identify roadblocks; simultaneously, you can determine who may need extra help to achieve their goal.
Support, the key to success:
As in all companies, support is the best option to achieve the final goal of an independent team. If one of your team members is stuck on a specific task, you can help them complete and achieve what they are trying to do. For this, you can implement a work methodology by pairs so that teams can complete their responsibilities. The idea is to build smaller groups within each team to work together and achieve the primary goal.
The Product Management team is responsible for the organization of a product from the beginning stages. They work closely with the rest of the team members and usually have leadership skills, know about marketing, and have customer relationship skills.
Planning the project:
Many PMs are well known for being crazy about planning because, without it, there is little to no success. Product Managers are mainly focused on how to give the most suitable solutions to clients. It is challenging because most expect extraordinary results, but they don't provide enough details for its construction. So this is one of the reasons the PM team organizes requirements and schedule constant meetings with the internal and external team to understand what they want and need.
Based on this, we are going back to the basics of journalism: What, Why, Who, When, and How. These are principles of good communication that can be used when creating and developing a product. You have to think about what you are building, why, who will build it, and how.
Product Management acts as the hub of product and market information for Sales, Marketing, Development, Support, Finance, Management and other parts of the company. Without this hub, each department develops their own perception of market reality, product capabilities and product portfolio direction. - Greg White.
PMs are expected to have effective communication and be assertive with all of the distinct areas in a company. If you are new in this role, you have to work very closely with your customers and partners. As I said before, a Product Manager must be enrolled with all areas and aspects of the product development to deliver an excellent message to the client. The task is completed by expressing product features and benefits to customers in their language.
Nowadays, product management is a role present in most companies, and it has grown due to the need for someone in charge of the principal communication with clients and the team. Product managers are recognized as experts in all areas involving products, such as customers, the market, technology, competition, channels, media, analysts, trending topics, and anything else that can help this product succeed. They have a complete vision for their products, and they must know how to build a winning strategy that can be aligned with company goals.
Sources:
Product Management: the role and how to master it. Atlassian Agile Coach. Open link: Product Manager: The role & how to master it | Atlassian
The Importance of Product Management. Greg White. Open link: The Importance of Product Management